Government Contracts

Performance of federal, state, and local government contracts entails significant compliance obligations. Whether you are a prime government contractor or part of their supply chain, these rules affect your products and services and how you run your business. Having a team of highly experienced counsel on your side is essential given the significant risks that violations of procurement laws and regulations can carry. From large aerospace and defense contractors to innovative and startup tech companies to advanced manufacturers, our clients rely on us to help them achieve their business objectives while complying with, and resolving issues related to, government contracts.

HOW WE HELP

Seyfarth’s Government Contracts practice provides a deep bench of seasoned practitioners with a wide range of government, industry, and private practice experience. We assist government contractors of all sizes in navigating the complexities of doing business with the government, from day-to-day compliance matters to large-scale internal investigations, bid protests, and disputes in federal and state courts. We work hand-in-hand with Seyfarth’s premier Labor & Employment, Employee Benefits, OFCCP, and Construction practices to provide an interdisciplinary approach that best fits our clients’ needs.

OUR SERVICES

We provide our clients with cradle-to-grave services and are best known for our work in the following areas:

Litigation. We have extensive experience representing companies in government contracts litigation. We regularly appear before the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the US Court of Federal Claims (COFC) pursuing and defending bid protests. A significant amount of our practice also consists of representing contractors in disputes, including requests for equitable adjustments, claims before the boards of contract appeals, federal construction claims, and prime-sub disputes. 

Compliance. Our clients rely on us to help them comply with the myriad of restrictions and requirements related into government contracts. We advise on issues like domestic sourcing and other supply chain restrictions, ethics, organizational conflicts of interest, intellectual property and data rights, cost accounting and allowability, Federal Supply Schedules, overseas performance, Foreign Military Sales, and the National Industrial Security Program (NISP). 

Small Business Programs. Our team focuses on issues related to small business and socioeconomics programs and regulatory compliance, including size and NAICS code protests and appeals, set-aside joint ventures, mentor-protégé agreements, 8(a) program eligibility and certification, socioeconomic program eligibility and certification (SDVOSB, HUBZone, and WOSB), affiliation, and small business subcontracting plans.

Disclosures & Enforcement. We have considerable experience representing and defending companies with respect to alleged wrongdoing, including with internal investigations, voluntary self-disclosures, mandatory disclosures under the Mandatory Disclosure Rule, reporting hotline reviews, government investigations and audits, default terminations, suspension and debarment, and False Claims Act and procurement fraud.

Transactional. Time and time again, our clients have come to us to help them with drafting and negotiating with teaming agreements, Contractor Teaming Arrangements (CTA), and subcontracts, in addition to forming joint venture entities. We have significant experience with other non-traditional procurement transactions, such as other transaction agreements, cooperative agreements, SBIR/STTR awards, and grants. 

Labor & Employment. Together with our nationally-ranked Labor & Employment and Employee Benefits departments, we support our clients on L&E issues unique to federal government contractors, such as the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act.

Mergers & Acquisitions. Our clients also look to us when taking on or undergoing mergers and acquisitions. We advise on how deal structures affect government contracts, conduct due diligence on government contractors, and analyze the impact to small business and socioeconomic program eligibility. Our team has significant experience with regulatory filings related to M&A of government contractors, including novations, notifications under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), filings with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and submissions to the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA).